“I will stretch out my hand(A) against Judah
    and against all who live in Jerusalem.
I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place,(B)
    the very names of the idolatrous priests(C)
those who bow down on the roofs
    to worship the starry host,(D)
those who bow down and swear by the Lord
    and who also swear by Molek,[a](E)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:5 Hebrew Malkam

“I will crush Judah and Jerusalem with my fist
    and destroy every last trace of their Baal worship.
I will put an end to all the idolatrous priests,
    so that even the memory of them will disappear.
For they go up to their roofs
    and bow down to the sun, moon, and stars.
They claim to follow the Lord,
    but then they worship Molech,[a] too.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1:5 Hebrew Malcam, a variant spelling of Molech; or it could possibly mean their king.


“I will also stretch out My hand [in judgment] against Judah
And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And I will cut off and destroy the remnant of [a]Baal from this place,
And the names and remembrance of the idolatrous priests along with the [false] priests,

And those who bow down and worship the host of heaven [the sun, the moon, and the stars] [b]on their housetops
And those who bow down and swear [oaths] to [and pretend to worship] the Lord and [yet also] swear by [the pagan god called] Milcom [god of the Ammonites],

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:4 One of the major male gods of Canaan. His female consort was Asherah.
  2. Zephaniah 1:5 The flat roofs of the houses were often used as convenient places of planetary worship (i.e. Sabeanism, astrology).

And I will stretch out my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarim with the priests; and them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship, that swear to Jehovah and swear by [a]Malcam;

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:5 Or, their king

4-6 “I’ll start with Judah
    and everybody who lives in Jerusalem.
I’ll sweep the place clean of every trace
    of the sex-and-religion Baal shrines and their priests.
I’ll get rid of the people who sneak up to their rooftops at night
    to worship the star gods and goddesses;
Also those who continue to worship God
    but cover their bases by worshiping other king-gods as well;
Not to mention those who’ve dumped God altogether,
    no longer giving him a thought or offering a prayer.

* * *

Read full chapter